Reasons for Designation
Bowl barrows, the most numerous form of round barrow, are funerary monuments
dating from the Late Neolithic period to the Late Bronze Age, with most
examples belonging to the period 2400-1500 BC. They were constructed as
earthen or rubble mounds, sometimes ditched, which covered single or multiple
burials. They occur either in isolation or grouped as cemeteries and often
acted as a focus for burials in later periods. Often superficially similar,
although differing widely in size, they exhibit regional variations in form
and a diversity of burial practices. There are over 10,000 surviving bowl
barrows recorded nationally (many more have already been destroyed), occurring
across most of lowland Britain. Often occupying prominent locations, they are
a major historic element in the modern landscape and their considerable
variation of form and longevity as a monument type provide important
information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisations amongst early
prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period
and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of
protection.
The two barrows 285m north west of Manor Cottage survive well and retain
important archaeological information. Evidence concerning the construction of
the barrows, the relationship between them and the manner and duration of
their use, as well as of the local environment, at and prior to that time,
will be contained in the barrow mounds, in the soils preserved beneath the
mounds and in the fill of the buried ditch.
Details
The monument includes two small bowl barrows situated on a low spur
immediately to the north of the parish boundary between Capel St Andrew and
Hollesley. The two barrows, which are adjacent on a north-south alignment,
are both visible as earthen mounds. The northern mound, which is encircled by
a ditch, is well defined on the north and west sides and stands to a height of
approximately 0.7m, covering a circular area approximately 9m in diameter.
The ditch, from which earth was dug during construction of the barrow, has
become largely infilled but survives as a buried feature, marked on the
western side of the mound by a slight hollow approximately 3m wide and 0.15m
deep in the ground surface. The second barrow, 3m to the south of the first,
is truncated on the south side by an east-west footpath which follows the
parish boundary. Approximately 70% of the mound survives, standing to a height
of 0.7m and covering a sub-circular area measuring approximately 6m north-
south, with a maximum diameter of 9m east-west.
MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features,
considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.
